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The Canon VIXIA M500 is the perfect camcorder for sharing your active life

Guess where I am?

Lucky you. The romantic getaway of a lifetime in Southeast Asia. And today you rode an elephant! Won't that be the talk of the town when you get home. Fortunately you'll be able to prove your adventure, and many more like it, with the Canon VIXIA HF M500 you're carrying in the palm of your hand.

This camcorder is just the kind of tool you'll want to have on hand for fast-paced moments on the road. It's equipped for the long haul, lightweight, versatile, and feature-packed.

Way beyond basic

The M500 isn't your pedestrian no-frills camcorder. It's got a 10X optical zoom lens that gets you all the way from a sweeping establishing shot of the temple complex to a tight close up of a chanting, saffron-robed monk. Sophisticated image stabilization that senses what you're doing  walking, zooming, shooting macro  cancels out handheld shakes and motion blur. The large 1/3" CMOS sensor shoots a native 1920 x 1080 pixel field, guaranteeing top-flight light sensitivity. Your pictures will take on a whole new life and vibrancy, even with available light at dusk and indoors.

The M500 features a generous 3-inch touchscreen for intuitive control and focusing

Unleash the muse

This camera not only reads your mind  it feeds it, too. On-board "story creation" software aids you in planning your shots, telling you when you need a close-up or a wide shot, and even how long the shot should be. Cinema-Look filters make your footage look old-timey, or vivid, or '70s-style nostalgic. And the Touch Decoration feature lets you add your own "fingerpainting" with clip-art elements and animated effects, all by way of the touchscreen LCD display. That water-taxi ride on the way back to your hotel could look like something out of a spy thriller  or your kid's favorite bedtime story.

SD Memory cards preserve your favorite shots

The M500 uses industry-standard SD memory cards. Affordable, reliable, and lightning-quick, you can add a 32GB SD card for almost 12 hours of recording at the highest-quality setting. Don't forget, you can swap out cards as needed. You know, that's an awful lot of memory handling ability. Even enough for an elephant.

Shoot videos for posterity  or posting online

From birthday parties to YouTube antics, camcorders let you capture moments you can share with friends and family, or the world at large. Most newer camcorders save your videos to built-in digital memory or a removable memory card. Some models come with a built-in hard disk drive that gives you much more storage. For maximum portability, check out our smaller cams that fit into a pocket or purse. For high-def videos that look awesome on your HDTV, go for a slightly larger model with a better lens and image sensor.

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Awesome little camcorder. A lot of bang for the buck!

Written By Coyote Pass Prods., Altadena, CA on Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Simply AMAZING!

I upgraded from a Sony Handycam (SD) camcorder to this one. The video quality of this camera is absolutely amazing! I was looking at more expensive cameras with WiFi and built in memory before I saw this one. I don't really see a need for the WiFi. The video files are so large that it would take forever to upload them using it without making the file smaller (which I use HandBrake and it doesn't lose any quality at all). The built in memory wouldn't last long at all, so I went with this one. Very happy I did! Shipping was very fast and arrived nicely packaged. This was my first purchase from CrutchField..it won't be my last!

I love it!

Written By Shon T, Langley BC on Monday, November 12, 2012

Great camera! I have a Canon 7D but wanted a camera for just doing video. Whether you're shooting HD footage for editing or just need instant web-ready mp4, there are plenty of options and record modes.

Good wntry level camera

I was expecting a better camcorder from Canon. Video quality is good, however, the controls are overly simplified and settings are constrained. (e.g. you have only 3 video quality choices). Zoom range could be a lot better. I was between this and the Vixia HF R300, which has a much better zoom range but very poor low light performance. If low light is not a problem then go for the cheaper R300, the zoom range and savings will be welcomed. One more tip of advise, avoid the other models that have internal memory and wifi. It is far more convenient to plug a SD card directly to your computer than using cables, and Wifi sounds cool but is way more cumbersome to setup and use than using the SD card.

NO timestamp will upload to PC

canon has a decent a picture and NOTHING else - this is the most un-user friendly camera (as are all the vixia canons I tried) - that I have ever seen.

After hours of figuring out how it all worked, I realized the timestamp was not uploading. After 2 hours on the phone with canon tech support - I was told it just will not work - so NO timestamps will upload to PC - even though you can see the stamp on your camera it will not upload in Windows 7 or Vista. I did not try XP, but doubt it will work there either. Canon supprt was also unable to tell me of any software that would save the timestamp

Awesome camera!

Only had for a day, but am loving every minute of it. Easy to use, very solid performance. Low light works unbelievably well. Practically no noise, especially when I put the camera in 30P or 24P record mode. Great all around camera!!

Product Research

General Features

Overview: The Canon VIXIA HF M500 Flash Memory camcorder
shoots high definition video or digital photos that can be stored on optional SD, SDHC, or SDXC Memory Cards.
You can store nearly 3 hours of HD video at the highest resolution on an
inserted 32 GB memory card. SD cards rated at Speed Class 4, 6, or 10 are
recommended.

Image Sensor: The HF M500 features a 1/3" Full HD CMOS
Pro Image Sensor, the same image sensor found in Canon's professional
camcorders. Compared to the sensor in Canon's 2011 VIXIA camcorders, this image
sensor allows 20% higher light transmittance for improved low-light performance.
This image sensor has 2.37 total megapixels, and 2.07 effective megapixels for
video and photo recording.

3" Widescreen Touch Panel LCD: The HF M500 features a
3" TFT color widescreen LCD touch screen (230,000
dots) to make it easy to compose and review your shots. The bright screen lets
you see exactly what your camcorder is recording, and what your widescreen TV
will display later. You can rotate the LCD screen 270° allowing the subject to monitor the LCD screen. The
LCD screen also features an adjustable brightness control. The LCD Screen's frame contains zoom, playback and menu controls
for added convenience.

Note: There is no additional viewfinder on
this camcorder.

Recording Formats: The camcorder records movies in AVCHD
(MPEG-4 AVC/H.264) for high-quality viewing on an HDTV or archiving, or in the
MP4 format for easy sharing with mobile devices or cloud applications. Audio is
recorded in Dolby Digital 2-channel,
using the built-in microphone.
The camcorder can record in Dolby Digital 5.1 channel if the optional SM-V1
Surround Microphone is used. Still photos are recorded at a fixed resolution of 1920 x 1080 in JPEG format.

DIGIC DV III: DIGIC DV III, Canon's advanced HD image processor, delivers enhanced image quality, true color production for both video and photos, and a sophisticated noise
reduction system for exceptional low-light performance. Its high-speed engine powers a variety of Canon technologies, such as the Genuine Canon Face Detection and Advanced Auto Exposure system. DIGIC DV III allows continuous shooting of digital photos, faster processing to the memory, as well as lower power consumption for longer battery life.

Zoom Speed: The zoom speed can be set to variable or one of
three fixed speeds. In the variable position, the zoom speed depends on how
far you push the lever. The purpose of the three fixed zoom speeds is a
smoother zoom transition, at your choice of speeds.

Intelligent IS (Image Stabilizer): The HF M500 features
Intelligent IS for clear, sharply focused video, even in situations that
typically cause camera shake. The Intelligent IS system analyzes the shooting
situation and automatically switches to one of four stabilization methods:

Dynamic IS: corrects minor movement and the shaking caused by
walking while shooting

Macro IS: for perfectly steady close-up shots

Powered IS: for use when zooming, correcting shake that can occur
in telephoto shots

Tripod Mode IS: for use when the camcorder is stationary

x.v.Color: The camcorder can be set to x.v.Color to record video that uses a color space with an extended gamut to achieve deeper colors, closer to real life. Video recorded with
x.v.Color can only be played back properly on HDTVs compatible with x.v.Color via an HDMI cable.

Video Snapshot: The camcorder's Video Snapshot mode lets you shoot a series of short video clips, then combines them with a pre-recorded music track or your own favorite
music track, to create an entertaining movie. You can select the length of the
video snapshot scenes: 2 sec, 4 sec or 8 sec.

Face Detection: The camcorder can automatically detect people's faces and use this information to adjust the focus and set the best exposure and color
control settings for beautiful videos and photos. When there are a number of people in the picture, one person will be determined to be the main subject. You can also select the main subject manually.

Exposure Modes: The HF M500 features several exposure modes,
each depending upon how much control you have over recording-related settings:

Smart Auto: The Smart Auto setting automatically
selects the best settings for the scene you want to shoot. You get
spectacular recordings every time without worrying about the settings.

Programmed AE: The camcorder automatically adjusts the aperture and shutter speed to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.

Shutter Priority: The shutter speed is manually set and
the camcorder automatically adjusts the aperture to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.

Aperture Priority: The aperture is manually set and the camcorder automatically adjusts the shutter speed to obtain the optimal exposure for the subject.

Cinema Mode: The Cinema Mode gives your recordings a
cinematic look. You can select a 24fps progressive frame rate to enhance the
effect.

White Balance: The camcorder's white balance system
helps you accurately reproduce colors under different lighting conditions so that white objects will always look truly white in your recordings. You can choose from the following modes:
Automatic, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Tungsten, and
Custom WB.

Cinema-Look Filters: The
HF M500 allows you to record with the following cinema-look filters: Cinema
Standard, Vivid, Dream, Cool, Nostalgic, Sepia, Old Movies, Memory, and Dramatic
B&W.

Digital Effects: When shooting videos, you can select a fade
or wipe to begin and end a scene. The fader can be activated only one time, or
every time you start/stop recording.

Self-Timer: This feature allows the camcorder to start
recording after a 10-second countdown. When using the wireless remote
control, the delay is two seconds.

Video Camcorder Features

Recording Modes: The camcorder offers five video recording modes
for AVCHD (MXP, FXP, XP+, SP and LP), and two for MP4 movies (9 Mbps and 4 Mbps).
You can capture the
following video recording times using these modes:

Memory Card Size

AVCHD Recording Mode

1920 x 1080 (16:9)

1440 x 1080 (4:3)

MXP
24 Mbps

FXP
17 Mbps

XP+
12 Mbps

SP
7 Mbps

LP
5 Mbps

4 GB

20 min

30 min

40 min

1 hr 10 min

1 hr 30 min

8 GB

40 min

1 hr

1 hr 25 min

2 hrs 20 min

3 hrs

16 GB

1 hr 25 min

2 hrs 5 min

2 hrs 50 min

4 hrs 45 min

6 hrs 5 min

32 GB

2 hrs 55 min

4 hrs 10 min

5 hrs 45 min

9 hrs 35 min

12 hrs 15 min

Memory Card Size

MP4 Recording Mode
1280 x 720

9 Mbps

4 Mbps

4 GB

55 min

2 hr 5 min

8 GB

1 hr 50 min

4 hrs 10 min

16 GB

3 hrs 50 min

8 hrs 25 min

32 GB

7 hrs 40 min

16 hrs 55 min

Pre-Recording: When Pre-Recording is activated, the camcorder starts recording video continuously into a temporary 3-second memory. When you press the Start/Stop button, the scene
recorded will have started 3 seconds before you started shooting. This is especially useful when it is difficult to predict when to start recording.

Audio Settings: The HF M500 lets you select from six Audio
Scene Settings, including a Custom Setting that lets you adjust the audio
settings to your liking. You can choose from Standard, Music, Speech, Forest and
Birds, Noise Suppression, and Custom. In addition, you can adjust the audio
equalizer by choosing from the following settings: Normal, Boost LF Range, Low
Cut Filter, Boost MF Range, and Boost HF+LF Range.

Wind Screen: The
camcorder automatically reduces the background sound of wind when recording
outdoors when Wind Screen is turned to "Automatic."

Mini Advanced Shoe: The top-mounted Mini Advanced Shoe lets
you attach to the camcorder a range of optional accessories to expand its
functionality. You use the Mini Advanced Shoe to attached the optional SM-V1
Surround Microphone,
DM-100 Directional Stereo Microphone, VL-5 Video Light, or the
VFL-2 Video Flash Light.

Microphone: The HF M500 has a built-in stereo electret
condenser microphone. You can change the directionality of the built-in
microphone to have more control over how sound is recorded. You can choose from
Monaural, Normal (stereo), Wide, or Zoom. In addition, there is a 3.5mm stereo minijack for adding
an optional microphone.

Built-in Speaker: The camcorder has a built-in speaker so
you can review the soundtrack as well as the picture when you're using the LCD
screen to playback a recording. The built-in speaker is monaural.

Playback Functions: The camera uses the following
special playback modes: Fast Playback (5x, 15x, or 60x) in either direction, Slow Playback
(1/8x or 1/4x) in either direction, and Frame-by-Frame Playback.
During these playback modes there is no sound.

Video Snapshots/Photos From Recorded Movies: You can record
video snapshot scenes and still photos from a recorded movie. The size of the captured photos will be
1920 x 1080.

Story Creator: Story Creator is a helpful function
that offers suggestions for typical scenes in a number of situations. With Story
Creator, creating interesting video stories is as easy as selecting one of the
story themes, such as Travel, Party, or Kids & Pets, and following the suggested
categories to record video. During playback, you can select your story from the
gallery to play back the scenes you recorded as a single, compelling video
story.

Digital Still Camera Features

Still Image Recording:
The HF M500 flash memory camcorder is also a high performance digital camera
capable of capturing stunning photos onto an optional SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card.
Photos are recorded at 1920 x 1080 only. The number of
still images that can be recorded on a 1 GB SD memory card is approximately 670.

Viewing Still Images: There are 3 ways to view still images: Single image, Slide show (one after the other automatically in order of recording), or Index screen showing
6 images or
15 images at once.

Battery Information

Lithium-Ion Battery Pack: The Canon HF M500 comes supplied
with a rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery Pack (BP-718). The optional BP-727
battery is also available. The camcorder also comes
supplied with an AC power adapter and charger (CA-110). The battery recording and playback times are as follows:

Battery Pack

Function

Performance

Charging Time

BP-718

Maximum Rec

115-120 min

310 min

Typical Rec

75 min

Playback

170-185 min

BP-727

Maximum Rec

170-180 min

450 min

Typical Rec

110-115 min

Playback

255-275 min

Note: The times above vary depending
upon the recording mode.

Auto Power Off: After 5 minutes without any operation when
powered by the battery, the camcorder automatically powers off. Approximately 30
seconds before the camcorder automatically turns itself off, a warning message
appears in the display.

Inputs And Outputs

HDMI Output: The HF M500 features a mini-HDMI (Type C) terminal that offers a high-quality digital connection that combines audio and video in a single convenient cable. The HDMI
port is compatible with HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control), allowing you in many cases to control the camcorder with the remote control of the connected TV.
It is also compatible with x.v.color. A 59" HDMI cable is included.

AV Output: The camcorder features an AV
output to playback audio and video on your television using the supplied
STV-250N composite video/stereo audio RCA cable. You can select between a 4:3 aspect ratio
or a 16:9 aspect ratio for the video out based on your television's aspect
ratio. The AV Output also doubles as a headphone output (selectable in the menu). The built-in speaker will be muted when headphones or the AV cable are plugged in.

USB 2.0 Connection: The camcorder features a USB 2.0 High Speed terminal for fast transfer of
photos and videos.

Microphone Input: In addition to the camcorder's built-in
microphone, the HF M500 features a 3.5mm microphone input for connecting an
external microphone, such as the Canon
WM-V1 Wireless Microphone.

Transfer Utility: Transfer Utility offers basic options
for saving AVCHD movies on the computer, uploading movies to the web, transferring
previously saved movies back to the camcorder's memory card, and
transferring music files to a memory card. Transfer Utility is only
compatible with Windows Operating Systems.

Music Data: Music files that can be used as background
music during playback.

Image Mix Data: Image files that can be used with the
image mix function.

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